firing line. a major japanese manufacturer is slashing employees in an attempt to end a two year losing streak. renaissance hasn't add profit since 2010. company executives say that has to change. they have unveiled a plan it turn things around. bottom line, they are cutting jobs, thousands of them, and closing plants.

the company will cut up to 14,000 jobs at head offices and affiliated firms. that's about 30% of the payroll. managers will close or sell eight of 18 plants across japan and they are considering selling another two factories. renaissance president says he is sorry about the job losses but he argues pain and sacrifices are unavoidable and that executives must keep the company alive. >> translator: we'll take every step we can to build a strong revenue change to withstand changes in the market, including human resources, and domestic product facilities. renaissance is the biggest supplier of micro controllers. amid intense competition, the company is struggling to keep

afloat. to understand how things got so bad, we look back on the company's recent history. >> reporter: renesas after nec merged the semiconductor unit with mitsubishi electric. they are focused on building lsi chips used in devices such as mobile phones and microcontrollers for cars and home electronics. then came last year's earthquake and tsunami. and floods in thailand prompted automakers to diversify their suppliers. in the end, renesas post a loss of $90 million in the term through march. in a bid to revitalize its business, renesas signed an agreement in may to outsource production to taiwan's tsmc and jointly develop products with them. but that wasn't enough.

the firm now has to stream line its operations by consolidating plants and cutting jobs. in exchange the four main creditors and three major electronic manufacturing shareholders reportedly agreed to give financial support, totalling more than $1 billion. nhk world reporter has been following the story. it, too, suffered from the earthquake and tsunami but what are other factors that affected renesas' decline. >> the main reason is electronic makers couldn't reach the global market. renesas customers, sony and sharp, those three companies are struggling with massive losses over the last fiscal year. amid declining demand for tvs. they are also fighting samsung

and lg electronics. these companies also make quality product, but faster and cheaper. it's a far cry from the late 1980s when japanese semiconductor makers had a global share of more than 50% korea and taiwanese makers have grabbed a lot of the market. >> obviously a lot more competition these days. for a revival plan, what is the key factor for renesas to get back on track? >> the answer is spinning off unproductive divisions and investing in more products. renesas must shift away as we mentioned, which is unprofitable. and pay attention to micro controllers. henesas has a 50% share of the chips.

if renesas forecast on this microcontrollers, can turn earnings around. cutting jobs and closing plants are paying for reform of renesas. they will cast a shadow of a local for mat. we have to pay close attention and watch if they are carrying out with restructuring with the fading restraint of the past. >> thank you. ri russia's state run news agency says he flew in to the

russian's far east. after inspecting a marine processing company, he left for the peninsula. maintaining a soviet military occupy the islands immediately after their country surrendered in world war ii, calling for the return of the territory for decades tp it was the second name he travelled to the disputed region since november 2010. his trip marked the first ever visit bay yourian leader. and it strained ties. following the visit, the japanese foreign minister protested to the russian ambassador to new guinea, saying the visit is unacceptable. japanese and russian officials made attempts over the years to resolve this long-standing territorial dispute but their diplomatic efforts have fallen short. kunashiri is one of the four islands in question.

other islands are east of hokaido. . a treaty from 1855 recognized the islands at the japanese territory. they controlled the chain for the next 90 years. the ussr agreed to release the islands provided both sides sign a peace treaty. the japanese government has consistently demanded the return of all four islands. in 1993, the first post war document to refer to all four islands, it's stated the territory issue should be settled based on law and justice. but there has been almost no progress in resolving the dispute. the japanese government has had difficulty establishing a consistent diplomatic policy because the prime minister has

changed six times in six years. plus, russian leaders have invested heavily in the islands as their country's economy has grown. president val vladimir putin and noda agreed to resume stalled negotiations over the islands but they fail to set a date. for more on medvedev's visit to the island. >> prime minister medvedev maintained the main purpose of his visit was to observe the progress of infrastructure project. but observers say he is also came to display his political inference over the far middest east to vladimir putin. the decision to go ahead despite protest from japan signal a strong resolve on the part of russia to continue developing the country as it's own. the impact of the visit on the

diplomatic tie between tokyo and moscow is unavoidable. it's going to be a major issue in the next line of talk between president vladimir putin and prime minister noda. over the past few months, putin has showed that he is ready to solve the dispute. the contrast with the action of prime minister medvedev could be a way of testing japan's willingness to make a compromise. >> all right, nhk moscow bureau british bank chief executive stepped down amid an interest rate rigging scandal. he said he was stepping down because of a level that risked damaging the franchise. he stepped down one day after marcus announced his resignation. regulators ordered barclays to pay a $350 million fine after

manipulating interest rates. the interest rate is used by libor for banks it lend money to each other. more than a dozen other institutions are under scrutiny. the british government decided to set up a special parliament to look into the scandal. people in japan have been watching a political drama play out and guess how it'll end. . one of the most influential members quit the ruling democratic party. ozawa add falling out over a plan to raise consumption tax from 5 to 10%. now noda is hitting back. he is expelling law makers who voted against his package of fiscal reforms. >> more than ever, we democrats should unite and conduct politics for the people as the ruling party. >> prime minister noda says he is willing to do his best to rebuild the democratic party.

dpj secretary-general produced a draft plan. it would concede 37 house members that voted against the tax hike bill pay the heaviest price of the 49 dissidents. they will be expelled. but dpj would accept resignations of 12 upper house members because the chamber has yet to vote on the bill. ozawa is continuing his preparations to farm a new party. he met with members after small opposition group. members of the main opposition liberal democratic party have been watching all of this unfold. secretary-general says it's time for voters to have their say. >> translator: the situation is normal and the democrats are to blame. the prime minister has no choice but to call a snap election. >> the bill is based on a three-party agreement with the

democratic party and nunomako party. they say their cooperation with ruling democrats will only extend to bills for the tax hike and social security reform. >> a pleet of u.s. military aircraft with spotty safety record is on its way it japan. american forces want to deploy the part plane part helicopters transporter known as osprey at one of their bases in okinawa. but the groups are doing what they can do round the aircraft. marine corps spokesperson say a ship carrying osprey left a california port sunday. they plan to arrive the the air station late this month for maintenance and inspections. peoplen okinawa and yam gucci are protesting against the deployment. they point to crashes in morocco and florida earlier this year as a reason no be weary of the aircraft. japanese foreign minister says

the osprey deployment is necessary for security reasons but he says they must face safety concerns for residents living in the area where the aircraft will operate. >> translator: i will continue to demand that the united states refrain from flying osprey aircraft in japan until they are deemed safe. >> the foreign minister also referred to a report u.s. officials are preparing on recent osprey accidents. the document is expected to be ready around august. gemba says defense ministry experts will analyze and assess the findings to determine if the aircraft can be considered safe. u.s. authorities will refrain from test flying osprey in japan until they submit their report later this summer. american military leaders have said they want the aircraft to be fully operational at the futenma air station by october.

long divided about what to call the body of water that separates the two countries, now officials say they will continue to refer to it as the sea of japan. a group demanded that maps and other publications refer to the body of water as the east sea. they claim the sea of japan is based on an incorrect view of history. white house officials say u.s. policy is to refer to each sea by a single name. they also said they are aware that south korea caused the body of water, the east sea. they are not asking south korea to use a different name. people in hong kong got used to having more freedom than mainland chinese. leaders in beijing promised to let them keep their autonomy

when the british left 15 years ago. they said they left a country in plis for 50 years but now they are making what they call patriotic education kpulscy for hong kong's children. some people are protesting what they see as propaganda. nhk world has more. >> children at some school know what chinese leaders mean by level country. their teachers began giving them patriotic education just after hong kong diverted to chinese control. the students began each week by saluting the chinese flag. they only know what hong kong has been like since it became part of china. >> raise your arms to 45 degrees. stand up straight.

>> students will appear to raise the flag. >> translator: when i raise the flag, i feel chinese. >> the children also learn about mainland china's customs. >> translator: we want students to be aware that they're chinese, feel proud of it, and do something for the country. >> leaders in beijing plan to make this compulsory in september. strans trance we must put emphasis on patriotic education

for the young. our com patriots in hong kong must inherit the tradition of loving china. some people in hong kong are speaking out against this policy. they say its government pressure. these students say they have a poor look on democracy and human lights. they worry the leaders will use patriotic education to censor what they learn. some teachers are also speaking out. they need to listen and discuss what they can do.

high school teacher said education influence hong kong's democracy. >> hong kong cherishes freedom of speech and other democratic values more than the mainland does. the chinese are trying to put a lid on these values with patriotic education. >> teaching his student about the army's crack down on protesters in tiananmen squares in 1989. he want to give them the plane truth about china. >> we must enable students to consider what the country lacks. so they can make it better.

>> ching in hong kong are now 15 years old. residents are exploring ways to maintain democratic values and one try's policy. nhk world, hong kong. music as diplomacy, piano concert held to mark 40 years of normalized relations between japan and china. ♪ ♪ china's government sponsored the performance featuring yundi li, he won the competition at the age of 18. he played ten pieces, including a nocturne by chopin. and one inspired by a chinese folk song. >> i hope to improve relations between japan and china through music. >> the governments of china and japan have arranged performances

by top artists and popular singers in each other's countries. officials hope cultural events like this will help boost friendly ties. ♪ >> there's an old recipe in japan for fighting the summer heat, eating eel. the poor catches and high demand have sparked higher prices and now japanese importers are tapping a far away source of eel from madagascar. most imported eel comes from china and taiwan but farms are catching fewer young eels to raise. one estimate says supplies have fallen nearly 80% from the peak. a major eel supplier, wholesaler decided to import eels from the african country.

another choel sailer in wholesaler in tokyo followed suit. employees of the company sampled some of the madagascar eels before sending them to the market. >> price could be a selling point, eels from madagascar cost 40% less than those caught in japan. wholesalers are betting consumers will eat up the summertime delicacy. here's a look at the latest market figures.

people living in western japan are hoping for a break in the weather. they have been feeling the brunt of this year's rainy season, rising rivers, landslides are making life difficult. at least one person is dead and another is missing. an active seasonal rain front has brought a deluge to western japan. the worst of it was earlier tuesday. downpours were recorded over three hours on the border of outa prefecture. the storm water completely uprooted a factory. a 76-year-old worker is missing. er toens of water overflow flooded part of the prefecture and sweeping away lat least one home.

>> translator: the water levels rows in just one hour. my only thought was it evacuate. >> mud from a lands lie swamped a house, killing an 80-year-old resident. rivers may rise without warning. let's bring in weather caster. what's the forecast like for the coming days? >> yes, can you say that again. the moisture is very high, land is very loose. water levels are high in kushu and even small amount of rain fall could trigger further flooding but looks like we will be having more rain. just additional on top of what we have here. this is just in an hour span

fallen today. 91 millimeters, again, in an hour. hiroshima also saw 60 millimeters. additional rain fall we are talking about, as much as 200 mill meeters in some locations due to this rain event. still lingering over the area. things are going to be tapering off by tomorrow but toki region will still see some amount of 50 millimeters of an hour. yes, we are going to be seeing more rain, unfortunately were for the next couple of days. the rain ban will stretch all the way towards the province. localized areas could possibly see as much as 250 millimeters. generally speaking, about 50 to

a hundred millimeters will be found along the rain band. very messy here in the philippines as well. very active low pressure system is dumping heavy amounts of rain, especially in western sea boards, seeing more than 200 millimeters in the past 24 hours. no rain is welcome but yet again additional rain fall will come in. especially if eastern thailand and indochina also seeing more than 150 millimeters. but that will be continuing with some chances of pop-up thunder storms. things are looking pretty much in the norm but shanghai reaching up to 37 degrees tomorrow so that's well above average. even tokyo will be seeing a hot and much dryer weather at 30 degrees for our wednesday. all right, moving over to the americas now. i know the great lakes region, making reports yesterday, but that is continuing into the ohio valley region again. primary threat is hail as well as heavy rain fall.

heavy rain along the gulf state areas and also, where we really want that rain is in and around northern rockies region where things are very dry, even showers. we probably could see some. by the time it reaches the surface ground that's evaporated. so really dry. extreme fire weather still in store in these regions. so do watch out for those flammable items. in towards alberta, rainstorms bringing heavy rain fall there as well. temperature wise, soaring into 37 degrees in atlanta, looking at a lot of 36 here. but denver, that's well above average at 36 as well. moving over to the european continent. now the british isles looking at a messy picture. again with this system. heavy rain can be found in and around austria and czech republican. temperature wise, still very hot towards the east. budapest looking at 38 degrees.

vienna reaching up to 29 as well. on the other side of the jet stream staying cooler here at london at 19 degrees. here is your extended forecast. well be back with more updates in 30 minutes. i'm gene otani. from all of us here at nhk

world, thanks for joining us.